Grooveshark Ended

[EvanJ]

Did anybody listen to songs online on Grooveshark? Last night grooveshark.com posted this message, which I retyped because it was in a form that couldn't be copied and pasted:

Dear music fans,

Today we are shutting down Grooveshark.

We started out nearly ten years ago with the goal of helping fans share and discover music. But despite best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes. We failed to secure licenses from rights holders for the vast amount of music on the service.

That was wrong. We apologize. Without reservation.

As part of a settlement agreement with the major record companies, we have agreed to cease operations immediately, wipe clean all of the record companies; copyrighted works and hand over ownership of this website, our mobile apps and intellectual property, including our patents and copyrights.

At the time of our launch, few music services provided the experience we wanted to offer - and think you deserve. Fortunately, that's no longer the case. There are now hundreds of fan friendly, affordable services available for you to choose from, including Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, Beats Music, Rhapsody, and Rdio, among many others.

If you love music and respect the artists, songwriters and everyone else who makes great music possible, use a licensed service that compensates artists and othr rights holders. You can find out more about the many great services available where you live here: whymusicmatters.com/find-music.

It has been a privilege getting to know so many of you and enjoying great music together. Thank you for being such passionate fans.

Yours in music,
Your friends at Grooveshark
Aprll 30, 2015"

[Deleted]

I used Grooveshark back in 2010 when I broadcasted on Justin TV (which also went under not that long ago). Talk about the end of an era. :(

Also, lol at them shading Tidal.

[Sir Benji]

Damn it! There were a bunch of rare/hard to find songs and remixes on there RIP SMFH

[ry4n]

They had so much that isn't on Spotify :(

I remember using it daily in 2009/2010 when it was the only site that would work on my crappy Windows 98 computer.. lol

[Green Baron]

This is why I hate copyright.

[lyhom]

used it before spotify, it was a good site past the occasional track that would get deleted but I really only used it for tracks that weren't on spotify in the last few months

surprised this wasn't earlier though tbh

[maine]

I used to use it for rarities since I could only ever find it on that site. Good for them on being really professional about the whole thing, and typing a nice message.

The Tidal shade doeee

[Chelsea Press 2]

I had used it for listening to previews and rare remixes that people had posted there. It's the end of an era.

[Relaxing Cup]

May 1, 2015 11:43:14 GMT -5 Sir Benji said:

Damn it! There were a bunch of rare/hard to find songs and remixes on there RIP SMFH

Exactly!!! Ugh! I listened to all my Sailormoon music on there. Fuck this!!! I am so bummed.

[peacebone]

Man, fuck the RIAA and fuck the major labels. I had tons of playlists on there and they're all gone. They also had TONS of rare tunes that I couldn't find anywhere else. Spotify is a decent alternative but there's a bit of music they don't have.

RIP Grooveshark (2007-2015). 

[EvanJ]

I have a list of 310 songs I used Grooveshark for, although some of them I haven't played in months or years. Some of them are on YouTube, but some videos there have ads first and Grooveshark didn't have audio ads. Without creating a playlist or being logged in, Grooveshark let me select a bunch of songs to play continuously. On YouTube each video is on its own page.

[Deleted]

So this means I'm finally going to stop getting the ton of 'this song was removed for copyright infringemnent' notices. It was almost amusing since every one of those emails was for some obscure or long-forgotten track that no one could possibly have been thinking about. You know your days are near when you're getting checked for uploading IMx without permission.

I hadn't used Grooveshark in a long time but it sucks that they weren't able to give even a few days' notice before deleting everything. As someone above said I imagine a lot of people lost many playlists that they will have a hard time trying to rebuild solely on their own memory.

I don't hate copyrights, but I think Grooveshark was just very unfortunate because in some ways, it was the streaming version of Napster. That is, it was created by industry 'outsiders' and relied on user uploads to keep it going; this kind of sharing didn't give artists or rights holders any kind of say or control over their own product, never mind any kind of profit. Grooveshark got into the streaming market when this type of music sharing was still a somewhat lawless land, but when the other industry-cooperative sites began to eclipse it, tightened copyright protections and licensing costs were bound to take it under eventually.

[Au$tin]

May 1, 2015 22:22:40 GMT -5 EvanJ said:

I have a list of 310 songs I used Grooveshark for, although some of them I haven't played in months or years. Some of them are on YouTube, but some videos there have ads first and Grooveshark didn't have audio ads. Without creating a playlist or being logged in, Grooveshark let me select a bunch of songs to play continuously. On YouTube each video is on its own page.

AutoPlay on YouTube.

[Deleted]

May 2, 2015 19:00:50 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

May 1, 2015 22:22:40 GMT -5 EvanJ said:

I have a list of 310 songs I used Grooveshark for, although some of them I haven't played in months or years. Some of them are on YouTube, but some videos there have ads first and Grooveshark didn't have audio ads. Without creating a playlist or being logged in, Grooveshark let me select a bunch of songs to play continuously. On YouTube each video is on its own page.

AutoPlay on YouTube.

Does Youtube still let labels do that douchebag thing where they can block some videos from being played in playlists? I had quite a few playlists that got screwed up for that. Between that, silenced or yanked links for copyright reasons, and the increasing number of pitched-to-avoid-yanked-for-copyright-reasons videos, YT is actually kind of a hassle to deal with now IMO.

[surfy]

I used this website often... I used it this year actually... Poo...

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I used to use Grooveshark back before Spotify came along because I could stream whatever I wanted while I was at work away from my PC.

I agree with what somebody said above, Grooveshark was essentially Napster for a new era. I'm not at all surprised it got shut down, as they were obviously aiding in copyright infringement by allowing users to upload anything to the site and then stream it royalty free.

I will miss it though, as I mostly used it to stream foreign music that isn't available in the US for streaming or even to purchase through iTunes.

[lyhom]

not that related to the topic but that moment when you see a game show offer a year's subscription of grooveshark on an episode that just aired now

[allow that]

This story took a very dark and tragic turn :(

Josh Greenberg, the co-founder of Grooveshark, was found dead on Sunday at his home in Florida. The Gainesville Sun is reporting that Greenberg was discovered in bed by his live-in girlfriend, who was away for the weekend, and that there was no immediate sign of foul play, injuries or drug use. He was 28.

Lori Greenberg, his mother, told the Times that her son had no health problems and that he was in good spirits following the demise of Grooveshark, the music streaming service he co-founded with Sam Tarantino in 2006. The site was shut down in late April following a prolonged legal battle with major labels over copyrights.

"He was excited about potential new things that he was going to start," Lori Greenberg said.

The Gainesville Police Department also confirmed Greenberg's death and explicitly noted the lack of evidence of suicide.

An autopsy was performed on Monday morning.

Greenberg is survived by his mother, his brother and his grandparents. A memorial service is being planned.

R.I.P.

[maine]

:( RIP

[Relaxing Cup]

Gosh...that's so frightening. No health problems? No foul play? So he just died in his sleep. That is scary. He was so young.

[Baby Spice]

RIP :(

[CookyMonzta]

May 1, 2015 17:26:46 GMT -5 peacebone said:

Man, f**k the RIAA and f**k the major labels. I had tons of playlists on there and they're all gone. They also had TONS of rare tunes that I couldn't find anywhere else. Spotify is a decent alternative but there's a bit of music they don't have.

RIP Grooveshark (2007-2015). 

I've never been to the Grooveshark site, but I look forward to the day when the majors suffer the same fate.

There are other sites to find hard-to-find music; but I can imagine it is a chore for some people to look. More or less, that is the way the majors want it.

Do they still pay mainstream radio stations (or Web sites) to undermine, restrict or block the airplay or streaming of independent music? I wonder...